Boards
After checking our mailbox 3 times a day since some time last week.. and only finding unwanted credit card offers and useless bills for most of that time, I got the letter I've been waiting for...
I passed part 2 of the national boards.
whew. One requirement down. A few to go.
Japanese Soccer
I had to share this (via popsci.com)
The Ten Commandments of Dental School
The first commandment for dental students is "Thou Shalt Not Break Thy Hands."
I think the second commandment has something to do with what happens after you sneeze.
The rest are pretty hazy.
I broke the first commandment.
Bee Street River
I drove through a big puddle the other night on the Bee St. River. I stopped and watched several small cars make it through, so I figured the TT would be fine if I kept it near the middle of the road.
I did not notice the stalled car on the far side of the "puddle."
We made it through without killing the engine.
But when I tried to go out earlier tonight, the clutch was stuck engaged whether I pushed the pedal to the floor or not. After trying in vain for a little while and pouting for the rest of the night over the need to take my baby to the shop....
I came across this little tid-bit from somebody who has suffered the same fate:
With some newfound hope, I went out and abused my starter, clutch, transmission, and most laws regarding red lights. I'm pretty sure somebody called me in for drunk driving.
On the plus side, I learned to powershift.
After about 15 minutes and 5 jerky laps around the block while wrestling a car out of control--I had my first glimmer of hope: a little stuttered a little when I pressed in the clutch and released it quickly. A couple more attempts and I was golden.
I guess one of the plates rusted to the other. I don't know. I can't quite figure out how this all fits together.
I'm never going down that end of Bee St. again without first caulking my wagon to ford the river.
Tuscaloosa
We're here in T-town.
We spent the night at the University Church of Christ. Nice people. Smart thinking--build a church with showers. Maybe that's how churches should be built--not as ornate worship halls, but as practical facilities--shelters.
Maybe a lot of folks would say not.
We had moderate success today. 3 wins and a loss.
An early loss tomorrow would send us home. I have mixed feelings. I miss being home. I like winning.
Tuscaloosa
In a few hours, I'm going to jump in my car and head to Tuscaloosa for an ultimate frisbee tournament with some of the guys from Harding--most of whom I haven't seen for quite some time.
I'm cautiously optimistic. I hope have haven't lost too much of my speed or talent. I also hope that it'll be fun, because this is a long drive to not have fun.
I'll be leaving this afternoon for North Augusta, where Paul will jump in the car (and hopefully drive), and we'll proceed to the University CofC in Tuscaloosa.
I think I'm most excited about a side trip to Moody, where we'll stop in to see Tom and Mary Beth.
On the road...
Toys
****Note: all parties involved in this story may not recall the events I am describing as having occurred exactly as portrayed.
I am cheap. In fact, I am almost as cheap as I am impulsive.
Because of this little character flaw, I hate going to the grocery store. It's a constant battle. I think the grocery store is my toy store. I walk down the aisles and say, "I want that... and that.. this too. OH, and one of those... no, I'll take two."
But I am cheap. So I don't buy any of those things. And instead go for the grits and cheap-o store brand wheat squares and some 1% milk because it's cheaper than whole milk.
But on occasion, impulse wins out.
I was surfing craigslist when I saw my next impulse purchase: An audi tt with a manual transmission. Cool. I wanted it.
So I started to make deals--only I was the salesman.
"Sweetheart... if you'll let me buy this car, then I'll do the dishes all next week."
no dice.
"I like that shirt. You look really nice today."
not a chance.
"If you'll let me buy this car, I'll sell my motorcycle."
A glimmer of hope.
When my bride and I were dating, I made the mistake of saying that I loved my motorcycle.... months before I ever told Amber the same thing. She's had a little envy of that little machine ever since. She got a little curious enjoyment out of the motorcycle, but she mostly regarded its presence in the parking lot like she would an ex girlfriend who shows up every week for Monday Night Football.
As of now, I'm banned from craigslist. Amber says so.
But I also got my car. And I ditched the bike.
The battery was on the fritz when I bought the car. Leaving the lights on didn't help matters one bit. Amber showed up and gave me a jump.
I took the car home and got to work changing the battery.
I did some head scratching.
And gave a few confused looks.
Then did some more head scratching.
And I started taking off random bolts.
Then I dropped a few random bolts.
And I searched and searched for those silly bolts.
Three hours later, I had a new battery installed.
Three more hours later, I found all those silly bolts and put them back where they came from.
Maybe I should have begged for a Ford Focus after all.
Hanna
Looks like Hanna is coming to visit after all.
MUSC dismissed class and clinic for today.
Amber's school did the same.
We considered escaping town for the weekend, but I think we'll wait it out.
More later.
Victory
Thanks to my stud-like partner hitting better than I ever saw before and passing with remarkable accuracy, we managed to pull out an easy victory at Pafukas.
Most of the time, I felt like I was standing still while Paul was digging and hitting. I suppose that means that he put up some good passes so I didn't have to do much.
The scores for the championship games were something like 15-1, 15-6. It's easy to win when the other team looks like they're about to pass out from the crushing heat.
I think my part of our winnings will be paying for my next video game.
Google Streetview
This might cost me some brownies in the future, but...
I discovered my dear mother in law standing in the cold with her dog-like critter. Ok, so Google's streetview might be a little bit scarier than I thought.
Google Directions
Paul and I will be playing in the Pafukas grass doubles tournament tomorrowI just got on google maps to get directions to the Northwest YMCA and...
Holy Cow!
Google maps are getting wild. That crazy program shows me what all the turns will look like. Cool. And scary.
Wish us luck.
There are a few things that I love most in life.
My God.
My wife.
Papa's steaks.
My mother-in-law's brownies.
And homemade vanilla ice cream.
President Street River
I've been enjoying the thunderstorms rolling by ever since the weather turned hot; however, living downtown is a bit different from anything that I am accustomed to. These are a couple of shots I took a week or two ago. If this is what happens after a thunderstorm, I'm definitely leaving town if a hurricane comes.
Hm... houseboats.
RIP M.E.
Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me. ....I guess.
One of my favorite blogs (Creating Passionate Users) shut down a little more than a year ago because of death threats from a small handful of angry readers. I loved her ideas and passion. Each new post was a new insight into how people work and think. 
And the pictures... I loved her graphics.
Maybe this final graphic explains what was so great about CPU, and a few others too. Mediocre things, like my blog produce neither love nor hate--there is no passion. But now I'll say so long to another of my favorite blogs because of threats. I suppose Elrod hasn't had too many death threats, but a few too many assassin-like unemployment threats appear to have sucked the air out of yet another of my favorite web writers. I'll miss your thoughts. They are different than mine, but I like the opportunity to challenge what I think--or thought.
I guess... here's a toast to public mediocrity. And a dirge for something special, loud, public, and different that will now be something quiet, hidden, private, and gone.
Fireworks
Happy Independence Day
In-Laws
One
Amber and I are celebrating our first year of marriage today. It's hard to believe that a whole year has already passed by. It's sometimes difficult to remember what things were like just over a year ago. Well, hectic I guess.
Over the past year we fought a little too much, ate too much junk food, and occasionally worked a little too hard. But we also learned to fight nice, work smarter, and I've discovered that I like a few vegetables. Things would be simpler if wives came with manuals. I did pick up on a few important details though.
I learned that it's not a good idea to compare my bride to any type of fruit or vegetable, either of our mothers, or anything else with two X chromosomes for that matter. Not all things are competitions. Winning is fun... for a little while. Eventually winning has its price. Flowers are worth at least twice as much as they cost.
Surgery
Amber's computer stopped working the other day. It would shut down less than a minute after turning it on. After some internet research, I decided the heatsink must be plugged up with lint and dust.
So I did some surgery and got really nervous. And discovered that the thermal grease that helps transfer heat from the processor to the heatsink was nearly nonexistent. So I bought some thermal stuff and put the computer back together.
Many thanks to this guy.
Cumberland Island
Make Cheap Steaks better with salt.
I don't care if anybody reads this. I just want to be able to find this article later.
PS: Don't try this with thin steaks. They'll taste like a salt block.